The Contingent

Empire Foundation

For the Empire Foundation, investigation is absolutely everything. It’s not about stopping supernatural phenomena, or fighting evil. It’s about knowing. The current orthodoxy among the organization is that the paranormal is neither good nor evil: it’s the result of one or more as-yet-unclassified orders of energy. And that’s when the phenomenon is paranormal — it’s often wholly explicable by conventional science.

All of this isn’t to say that the members of Empire Foundation can’t and won’t participate in the destruction of a dangerous supernatural creature. If the state of vampirism makes one a blood-drinking psychopath, it may well be best, given the so far incurable nature of the disease, to put the poor soul out of his misery. Cancer may not be evil, but it can be cut out.

Membership

The following members of the Contingent are part of the Empire Foundation compact

Status

Status in the Empire Foundation provides the following benefits:

Status 1 Gain access to a pre-defined list of Endowments listed below. Note: You must purchase these Endowments using your XP.

Status 3 Your increased status with Empire has them pulling you into their circles as they support you more directly. However, they rub off on you. Players receive the Arrogance specialty in Academics, Firearms, Intimidation, or Science; as well as Allies, Contacts, or Retainer 2. The second benefit disappears if you lose this level of Status.

Status 5 Gain three dots of the Resources Merit. Merits cannot exceed five ranks so any additional ranks roll over into other appropriate Social Merits.

Endowments

1 Dot

Veritasium

Tiny blue pills. Each dot of this endowment grants one dose per chapter. When you take one you will be able to completely control your emotional tells for the rest of the scene. You feel them, but they don’t show on your face unless you allow them. This makes you a perfect liar in that no one can see that you don’t believe your words. Whether they catch you up in a logical fallacy is another matter. Additionally, when taking the pill, you need to make a Stamina+Composure roll. Failure gives you the moderate Sick tilt for the scene as well. All rolls that require an active effort out of combat also suffer a -2 penalty.

Nightshades!

These sunglasses are stylish as hell! Not as important, you can see in mundane darkness with full vision.

Etheric Rounds

Each dot in this Endowment is one clip. Bullets fired from these weapons shine brightly and do normal damage to manifested ephemeral entities. Against regular enemies, it reduces the damage by 1.

2 Dot

Horus Lens

Taking the shape of stylized cat eye glasses with small vibrating speakers by your ears, this device allows you to see and hear into Twilight, the state of ephemeral beings in our world when they aren’t manifested to our eyes. Spend a willpower while wearing these and you can perceive the Twilight for the scene. Unfortunately, you also take a -2 penalty to Perception checks made to notice anything in the physical world. For two more merit dots, this can be integrated with a full body suit allowing you to touch (and be touched by) beings in Twilight

Armored Weave

A light but tough mesh that can be installed into any clothing to render them bulletproof without revealing its presence. The clothing gains armor 1/3. It requires a basic Dexterity+Craft roll and five minutes to uninstall the weave from one set of clothing to another.

Camouflage Pills

Make a Stamina+Composure roll. You gain a +3 equipment bonus to Stealth for the scene. If you fail the roll you gain the moderate Sick tilt for the scene.

3 Dot

Insta-Stitch

Syringe containing a chemical cocktail to both speed the healing process while also rendering the subject inured to the pain they are experiencing. Successful Int+Med-2 roll required to heal 2B or 1L per success in the human target you apply this to. A person can only enjoy the effects of the syringe once every 24 hours.

Flashy Thing

A creation of Taz, this strobe blasts a powerful flash of light in a 10 yard cone. With a successful Dex+Firearms vs Stamina+Supernatural tolerance roll, it does 1B and inflicts the Blind Condition until the damage is healed. Against creatures vulnerable to sunlight, it does 1 aggravated damage, instead.

Ephermerol

Inject yourself with this serum and spend a willpower to gain Telepathy at the three dot level for the scene.

4 Dot

Red Sand

A small packet of powder you rub on your gums. For the scene, the character who ingests this gain a +1 to Wits, Stamina, and Resolve and doesn’t suffer wound penalties. However, as the scene ends, the strain of it inflicts 1 lethal damage. Additionally, it’s extremely addictive. Two doses within three months will hook the character. You’ll gain a persistent Deprived Condition. Whenever you take a dose, the Condition is abated while the effects of the drug last.

Hypnotic Lipstick

Apply this lipstick or chapstick to yourself to prime it. A kiss of one second or more gives the target the Swooned Condition.

5 Dot

Death Ray

Using strange radiation from beyond Pluto, this heavy ray gun shoots corrosive purple rays that deal aggravated damage to non-ephemeral targets. Other than the damage type, it uses the stats for a heavy pistol.